Armor
by SilverCrystal029
Summary: Fluffy early series oneshot about Rogue and Scott picking out her uniform, and maybe why her's has armor.


Scott looked down to the shorter girl beside him with a smile. A lot of the institute had Rogue all wrong. Sure, she was naturally as intimidating as Wolverine. And, she did wear goth makeup and clothes, read books whose covers gave Kitty's nightmares, and listened to music that gave Jean migraines. But, beneath all that was a smart, sharp, and compassionate girl.

He didn't have to spend a lot of time with her to tell that.

Her words and tenacity had saved his life in the blizzard. Her quick thinking saved Jean from Fred's clutches. She'd only been at the institute for a week, and after their exposure, Logan had threatened everyone to leave her alone for a while. Now, it seemed he was finally ready to propose the X-Men to her. Mystique had forced her to choose a side and to join the Brotherhood. Charles would never do that, but they had hoped she'd want to of her own volition. The girl held great power and promise.

She didn't trust easy, and from the limited things she's told him, Scott can't blame her. But, they bonded in the snow. Both facing off against their nemesis. He can get her to feel comfortable, to talk, to laugh almost as easy as Logan can (Logan bonds instantly to_ all_ the girls, Scott should be so lucky). The leisurely walk leads toward the basement, and it seemed like the perfect time.

She looked a lot different in casual clothes, face still painted dark. Smaller, not much larger than Kitty. Her attitude just made her seem like it. She was in sneakers, athletic leggings, and a cropped purple sweat shirt. Rogue chuckled, tucking silvery hairs behind her ear. "Y'know, what you did back there... In the blizzard..." Nearly translucent skin flushed red.

"Aw,_ that_? That was nothin'..." She drawled, her accent thick. It was either quick thinking or die.

"We train everyday to have some of your sharp skills. Not just then, when you saved Jean, too." Her gaze drifted to the ground. She still wasn't sure why she did that, but the thought of leaving anyone in the clutches of Fred makes her skin crawl. She wouldn't even surrender her annoying roommate to that. "Nobody here is going to make you do anything you don't want to do. You know that, right?"

Even with his glasses he held her stare. Scott could read the dictionary and have her agree, ever since they got thrown from the cliffside together... Nobody made her feel as at home as he did. And, Logan had assured her of the same thing. When he realized what Mystique had already put through, he let her know her home was still there, whether she wanted to be an X-Man or not.

"Course, Ah do." She crossed her arms over her chest, though. Charles was not like Mystique. If Mystique could control people, she would've. He would not. But, she had to know he'd hope she would.

"I think you'd be good at it, Rogue. I think you want to help people." She looked at gloved hands. Did she? Maybe, that was why she helped Jean. "Why don't we try a Danger Room session together, walk through it. We'll take it slow." She smiling now, cursing his diplomatic voice.

"Okay, fine. Ah guess. Would Ah wear this?" He smiled back at her, leading her to a changing room.

"Here, there's a uniform Ororo made that nobody's claimed yet." He reached into a draw and pulled out a small, dark piece of material. She quirked an eyebrow.

"Are ya s-"

"They stretch. Besides, you're_ tiny_. Go change and I'll give you a tour of the Danger Room." Rogue nodded and disappeared into a stall while he went to change. He'd just finished when he expected to meet his teammate. "Alright, you r-" He was shocked when a clunky, silver boot came rocketing outside of the girls' changing wing. "ROGUE?"

_"What kinda joke is this.._." She hissed, still not visible to astounded boy. They'd just played tennis and had smoothies, _now_ she was trying to take him out, again.

_"Joke_, Rogue?" Just when he was beginning to think he understood girls. He frowned in his uniform, reluctantly trying to creep closer to the locker room. '_Okay,'_ He thought with a deep breath. _'She must not like the uniform. We'll make her a new one...'_ "Just tell me what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Ah'd expect this from jocks, l-like Duncan. Or... Or... Even _Porcupine,_ with his stupid camera. But, _you_?" Now, Scott was scratching the back of his head. What did she mean? "Ah really thought ya weren't like other guys, Scott. Really." He cringed. He knew from experience, it was never good when a girl said that. For any reason.

"Whoa, whoa. Just calm down. Talk to me, this is _me,_ here." Another boot came flying and he pressed himself flat against the wall. "Oh, man."

"Shades!" Scott didn't know whether to be relieved or not when he heard Logan call for him. "What is all that damn noise? Do you know how _hard_ it is for someone of my hearing to settle into a nap?" He rounded the corner, practically growling in a brown leather jacket. When he smelled the newest recruit, stewing in a rage, he eyed Scott.

She was more vulnerable than the others. She was denied many rites of teenage passage and hopelessly used as a pawn by Mystique. He grabbed Scott and pressed him against the wall. "This what I _think_ it is, scooter?" He groaned, Rogue hissing unintelligibly behind them.

"What do you think it is? I don't know! We were gonna tour the Danger Room and I brought her down here to get a unifor-" He released the young mutant when he said uniform. Men never mingled in women's clothing. Especially, not teenage mutant women. The results were always disastrous. He'd made input on Ororo's dress (and back then, he'd been a much more lewd and crude and barely reformed version of himself), and that was the last time.

"No... No, Scott. You don't _ever,_" He pushed him against the wall. "You don't ever deal with the girls' uniforms." He almost whispered. "Designs, sizing... None of it. They're women, Scott Summers. More _dangerous_ than man, more dangerous than mutant. Even _worse_ if she's a woman mutant, y'understand me?" Scott tried to make sense of the madness in his teacher's eyes. "Y'get Storm. Jean, hell even half-pint has a better input than _you._ You offended her, insulted her..." He sniffed.

"So... Are you going to talk to her? She likes you more than me, more than everyone." Logan released the boy, his face slack with fear.

"Oh no, no no. Got_ nothin'_ of value to add to a teenage girl's body issues. I ain't goin' in there. You better beg one of the girls, _nicely._" Scott would rather die than have Jean say 'I told you so', but Rogue was about to start tossing belts. Scott watched in disbelief as Logan took off, all the way up the stairs.

"Wolverine!" He groaned._ 'Jean...'_

_'Hey, Scott. What's um, going on downstairs?'_ He cleared his throat.

_'I... Made a mistake.'_

_'Oh?_' Jean can't help but sound interested.

_'Yeah. I wanted to show Rogue the Danger Room and, apparently I wasn't careful enough when I picked a spare uniform... She won't even let me see.'_ Jean was chuckling to herself, but she tried to hide the amusement from her head voice.

_'Oh, Scott. You guys... Men will just wear, anything. Girls have... A lot more to consider.'_ Scott huffed.

_'We want to save the world, someday. It's not a fashion statement.'_ Like Scott could ever empathize with being a woman under the male gaze. She could think of a few assets she had that didn't make saving the world any easier.

_'Well, it took Ororo five tries to get my uniform right, I'll come talk to her.'_ Jean could empathize. She wasn't always the leggy, voluptuous soccer player Kurt and Scott mooned after. And, she could already tell that Rogue dressed down. She was in better shape than all of them (thanks to Mystique), and since she'd always been told she had a skin condition, she was accustomed to covering up.

It didn't take long for the red head to find Scott still camped out in the changing room, his head between his knees.

"Oh, an' _another thang-_"

"Rogue, it's Jean." Silence.

"Ah'm not comin' out." Is all she says after a moment. 'See', Scott mouths, but Jean rolls her eyes.

"That's okay," The telepath assures. "What's the matter?"

"Ah look fat. Think _Stevie Wonder_ out there was bein' a per-" Rogue bit out through grit teeth. Scott interrupts before she's finished.

"Rogue, you have like, three percent body fat! And _I WAS NO_-"

"Scott," Jean groaned, mortified. "That's not okay to say to a girl! Especially from a place of... Of privilege!" He quirked an eyebrow, already fed up with the estrogen in the room.

_"Privilege?_" Jean folded her arms.

"Yup. You just don't have as many things to be conscious of as women." He scratched his head, but he didn't argue. She had a point, he just didn't see how it all mattered, now.

"Thank you." Rogue spat, and Scott rolled his eyes. Heaven forbid they gang up on him, together.

"Would you let me come in? My first uniform had a _mask,_ the professor was worried about our identities. Then, one split right down the back because it didn't stretch much... Uniforms are trial and error, Ororo will make you one that works." Rogue heaved a frustrated sigh. Jean looked good when she woke up, during gym, with no makeup on. She and Kitty couldn't relate to how she felt.

"It... It's too bad." She insisted, quietly. Nobody needed to see. "Ah look like biscuit dough stuffed in a_ stocking._" Scott stifled a laugh and Jean glared daggers at him. Red hot, flaming daggers and he was silenced.

"Rogue, I _seriously_ doubt someone who can do a backflip looks stuffed into _anything_." She scoffed at Scott. "What did you do? Give her one of Kitty's mock uniforms?" He held his hands up, defensively.

"No! And, Kitty isn't _that much_ smaller than-"

"Ah'll just wear my normal clothes, it's fin-"

"A uniform goes a long way to keep us from being identified, Rogue. You need _something_. Even the Brotherhood boys have 'em." Rogue squealed in frustration. The noise attracted Katherine Pryde, the girl in question's roommate.

"Whoa, what's like, happening _here?"_ Rogue cursed in the changing room.

"Is that mah roommate?"

"Oh! Are you, like getting a uniform, finally? Are you using that sultry, emerald green one? Fabric's a little thin on it." She spoke mile a minute, secretly musing to herself how funny it was that Scott and Jean had found their way into the same situation, again.

"No, cause Ah look like a crescent roll in it. Don't think Ah meet the weight requirements for the team, Scott." The X-Men's leader rolled his eyes.

_"Rogue,"_ He sighed in exasperation.

"Just let Kitty and I see, Rogue. It took her over_ six hours _to design and pick hers. Logan almost had a fit." When Rogue sighed, Scott prayed it was in defeat.

"Fine. Whatever. Don't say Ah didn't tell ya it was _hopeless._.." Both girls smirked at Scott as they made their way into the girls' changing room.

"Kitty and Jean, to the rescue." The shorter of the two chanted, tugging on her pink cardigan. But, both girls exclaimed when they finally saw what was making Rogue freak out. She wasn't fat, and the uniform wasn't too small. Except, for around her chest. The girl covered most of her afflicted skin, and had a sort of tom-boyish look about her. But, Rogue's chest in the stretchy material made Jean look as flat-chested as Kitty.

Her skin showed white through the stretching, green lycra. The uniform fit perfectly everywhere _except_ her bust._ "Whoa."_ Is all Kitty says after a moment. Her mother was tiny, but she still had a little time to grow bigger assets. Jean had always been a vision of stacked, but Rogue's chest seemed to impair her life. All Jean can think for a moment is that she's glad Rogue didn't come out. Boys, they were all the same. And once someone as clueless as Scott noticed...

_"Okay,_" Says the telepath.

"Yeah." Rogue dead-pans. "Working out don't really _help t_hose, and sixteen year olds can't get breast reduction surgeries..." Kitty baulked.

"You would get those _removed?_"

"Oh, Ah bet _your_ back's feelin' fine, Kit." Rogue hissed. She could make a long list of complaints about her breasts, but not with Scott around the corner. Jean bowed her sympathetically.

"She's right, Kitty. After a certain point... They just make your back hurt." The younger girl shook her head in disgust.

"Worth it." She muttered as Rogue crossed her arms over her bust.

"Mystique would get me to bind 'em when Ah was trainin', but that _hurts_." She remembers the unshed tears and the bruises mottling her white skin and shivered. Both Kitty and Jean frown at that.

"Okay, that's horrible. And we'd... Never make you do that." Jean tells her, seriously.

"Yeah," Kitty eyes Rogue's dimensions. "How would you breathe anyways?" The pale girl raised an eyebrow when Kitty approached her, examining the angles of her body.

"What're y-"

"All we need is a little more support around your waist, and... Armor. To protect them, I mean,_ you_." Rogue still didn't look all the way convinced, and frankly, she wasn't used to this much help. Much less, from girls. Rogue's female friends were non-existent. Until now, she guessed. "You won't always have powers, so armor might be a good idea, anyway."

Jean nodded. "You do listen to Wolverine. Anyway, that would solve your support problems." She gestured to the short girl beside her. "Kitty takes a Fashion & Econ class. She draws it up and Ororo sews it." Kitty nodded, furiously.

"Yup. You can like, help. Make sure it looks how you want it." Rogue fiddled with her gloves.

_"Really?"_ Jean nodded.

"Of course." She grabbed one of the spare x-jackets and draped it around the shorter girl, making her look decent. "Let's go see what she's doing."

"Yeah, I_ love_ drawing up uniforms!" Kitty ran forward through the walls. Rogue watched for a moment before following beside Jean. Scott stood when the girls emerged. When the conversation turned to busts, he'd turned his attention to his cell phone. Wolverine's words were buzzing in his head. If they thought he'd eavesdropped, they would gang up on him. He knew it. He cleared his throat.

"Figure everything out?" He called as they filed out.

"Yeah," Jean waved dismissively, walking out in her khaki, wide legged pants.

"No thanks to you." Kitty quips as they exit the basement. He scratched the back of his head, wondering how things would be now that there were as many girls on the team as boys. He didn't know, but he sensed headaches in his future. And, he secretly wished he'd gotten to see.


End file.
